I think a better way to put LAW’s comment is that those are three guys who haven’t shown the ability to create threes for themselves.
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Right. Yes, MAAR shot a nice percentage late in the year, which also coincided with Walton playing out of his mind and setting up everyone on the team (including MAAR) with great looks.
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Exactly. MAAR’s threes come from being set up period. He does not create his own jumper very well. The hope is that X can create his own shot while also setting up others. We actually need at least two others to be able to do this also. Come on down Poole and Brooks.
He shot 37% from deep last season. He’s a good 3 point shooter. We don’t need him to create his own 3 point opportunities. He will get those on kick outs from other guards and from Moe/Wilson opportunities. Just find it interesting that people are willing to put his playing time in question when X, Brooks and Poole have yet to prove it at the college level. And there’s little out there suggesting they will be better at getting their own shot next season.
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MAAR is capable of attacking the basket when he needs to create his own shot, and he has no needs to settle for long jumpers. I think that his area of improvement is to use his ability to create for others.
@umhoops Do you have the stats for what percentage of Wagner and Wilson’s possessions ended in kick outs for threes? I can’t imagine that it was very high, or enough to come close to what Walton and Irvin created, even when coupled with potential Simpson contributions (Who is far from a sure thing).
Not Dylan, but I imagine there will be more kickouts from Moe/Wilson as they become more of a focal point next year and their usage increases.
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Didn’t you say above that MAAR was the only guy know can handle primary ball handling responsibilities? I strongly disagree with that–not that we know others can, but rather that MAAR has never been our primary ball handler for more than brief stints, and has never been an offensive creator for others–but if that’s true, who’s going to be the guy driving and kicking it out to him? And getting open 3s from Mo and D.J. opportunities–well, maybe from D.J., but Mo had 20 assists all year.
Somebody is going to have to be the guy who runs the offense and sets up others. Maybe it will be MAAR, maybe it will be one of Simpson, Brooks or even Poole, or maybe it will be Matthews in a Manny like role, but it has to be somebody. I like MAAR, and think he does a lot of good things for us, and I think he’ll play a lot of minutes next year, but I don’t see any reason to believe that he’s a PG. I’d love to be proven wrong on this.
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Totally agree. I predict that MAAR will play the most minutes next season, 37+ per game. He may not be the main focus of the offense but he provides much needed stability for a young back court.
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He averaged 9.1 points and 1.9 assists in 30 minutes per game, as a junior.
Now, in Big Ten play, especially over the last 15 games or so (also when Walton was playing at an AA level), he picked it up. If that carries over into next year, and he can score 14-15 a game on good shooting percentages, then sure, he keeps the job easily.
If he averages 9.1 again, the young guys will probably eat into his minutes.
On the three point shooting, .378 is solid, not spectacular, especially on 1.1 makes per game. For his career, he’s at .359 - again solid, but hardly elite.
I like MAAR, but I haven’t changed my mind that on a really good team, he’s a sixth man not a starting two guard.
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Down the stretch his sophomore season, he was one of the primary creators and he did alright with that. I have never said he will create for others. He can handle the ball and he is the only one returning on the roster that we know can do so in decently large volumes. JB’s offense doesn’t have to have distinctly different responsibilities for the PG and SG. In many years, those two positions are essentially the same (like how the 3/4 function the same).
IMO, X will handle most of the creating abilities. But I am making assumptions about how he develops. I think it’s more likely that the freshmen cut into X’s time than they do MAAR’s.
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It doesn’t matter what his role would be on a really good team because I don’t think that’s what we’re going to be next season. As a shooter, he’s someone I’m comfortable with taking 3-5 treys each game. He’s a more proven shooter than any of our other guards, which was my point when I brought up his shooting %.
Freshman THJ didn’t even play over Senior Stu, and Stu was probably the most overrated player in Beilein’s era. I realize Novak started at the four so THJ played the 3 with Stu at the 2, but my point is he didn’t eat into any of a Senior’s rotation.
JB will find time for Poole and get creative in lineups if he proves he should be playing. I just don’t think it’ll come at the expense, or much of the expense, of MAAR’s playing time.
One thing about Poole is that he’s young - he turns 18 in June, a year later than some other guys. And his body is still developing and looks totally different than a year ago. Whether or not it’s next year, he’s got a great chance to be really good at UM.
As for MAAR, he’s done a good job and his success is a testament to him and JB. But I wouldn’t call him a good 3 point shooter as a guard/wing at Michigan. He and DJ had essentially the same 3pt numbers, tying for 5th in 3pt made and 4th in 3 pt % (5th if you include Donnal). He’s good in that he only takes wide open threes and hits them at a decent clip. But he’s limited - no 3s off the dribble or around screens or against tough contests - and even in his limited role isn’t a dead eye shooter.
And while he shot well in B1G play, his shooting overall in “games that matter” wasn’t great. He shot 4 for his last 16, 27% in the NCAA tourney, and 33% in the B1G tourney. In the nonconference, he shot 5-22 (23%) against Marquette, SMU, SC, VATech. Texas, UCLA, and Furman and 9-24 (38%) against the tomato cans. Even in B1G play he made 0 3s in five games and 1 in another 5 – so over half the games he made 0 or 1 3pt - as the 4th or 5th guy on the scouting report. He wasn’t getting as many shots as others, but when he occasionally did shoot off the dribble or contested 3s, it seemed evident why. He was also quite poor at 2pt jumpers.
MAAR played an important role on this team and last year’s too. Especially once Walton took over, he was an excellent complement, hitting shots and leaking out for fast break opportunities. He played pretty good defense, sometimes really good. He’s solid and I hope shows I’m wrong about his limitations. And he may play 30+ minutes next year. But I think he gets pushed more than this year, and there’s a better chance than some think that Poole or others eat into his minutes if he doesn’t bring it.
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Stu was a junior Timmy’s freshman year and began that season on the bench with Timmy and Evan (another freshman) starting and Zak at the 2. Later that year JB moved Evan to the bench put Stu as a starter with Zak starting at the 4. The same thing happened the next year. Stu did play basically the same minutes his last two years as his sophomore year, though he started out playing less…
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I guess I don’t see freshmen Poole being a guy who makes a play when the other team is on a run, or when the offense is stagnant and needs a big bucket.
I know your comment and everyone else means well and isn’t negative at all, but I still don’t think MAAR gets the due he deserves. The guy made huge plays within critical moments this year.
I also think we can bring up all the stats we want but he played his role perfectly. If he can’t shoot a three efficiently off the dribble, he didn’t force it and attempt many.
Ah totally my bad, thought he was a Senior on Timmy’s freshmen year. I think as you called out it coincides with the thought that he still played a lot of minutes as a Senior. He gets the rep as a good three point shooter but he really was average to below average.
Just because a player is 4th or 5th on Michigan in 3 point shooting, doesn’t mean he’s not a good 3 point shooter. We had several good shooters on the team this past season. One of the best is gone (Walton) and none of the other solid shooters that are returning are in the backcourt.
Besides, we know he’s a mid to high 30s three point shooter. We have no idea what the freshmen, X and Matthews will be in terms of shooting from deep next season, which was the reason why MAAR’s 3 point shooting was brought up.
MAAR certainly had a good year and contributed greatly to quite a good team, with some big-time plays along the way.
Poole strikes me as a guy who will also make a lot of big buckets at Michigan. He really seems to enjoy the moment, and being at LaLumiere probably helped prepare him for college. Still, we’ll have to see it on the big stage.
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Suppose the starting lineup is X, MAAR and Mathews at the guards. Arguably, their strength is getting into the paint, not shooting. If the opponent goes to a zone or sagging man (to clog the lane), who is going to shoot them out of it? Beilein would likely sub out MARR for Poole and/or Mathews for Robinson.